


From College to Cupcake

by MorphoHex



Category: Doki Doki Literature Club! (Visual Novel)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, F/F, F/M, Loss of Identity, Reality Bending, Transformation, Transgender
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2020-07-03
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:20:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,911
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23989534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MorphoHex/pseuds/MorphoHex
Summary: In the real word, a student has the hots for a co-ed named Yuri. When two realities collide, one will be pushed aside.
Relationships: Natsuki/Sayori (Doki Doki Literature Club!), Protagonist/Yuri (Doki Doki Literature Club!)
Kudos: 25





	1. Days 1 and 2: Meeting and Bonding

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, this is adapted from a Writing.com interactive that I felt warranted being added here as a standalone story. So apologies in advance for any wonky formatting since I'll be combining some parts together here. I want to make more stories around TF, reality change etc. so let me know how I can improve!

Derek Philmore is a fourth-year college student, excited to finally graduate at the end of the semester. Leaving his apartment, he takes a moment to stretch his 5'11" body and yawn, tired from having to wake up early for an 8am class. "Man, why was this time the only option..." Luckily, there was a nearby bus stop he could always take so he didn't have to walk a couple of miles. Arriving on campus, he made his way to his "Introduction to Philosophy" class. It was usually something people got out of the way their first year, but he decided to put it off until the last minute. "I'm a Biology major. Why do I even have to take this class anyways? Oh well, at least it's kind of interesting..."

Despite being a large lecture hall, there were only a couple dozen students scattered around the place, mostly in groups. Derek usually sat alone and in the back, considering all his other friends took their gen eds already and he wasn't really up for making more so early in the morning. Taking his seat, he had about 15 minutes to kill, so he spent it looking around to see if there was anything different from the usual. A group of football players looking bored out of their mind...a pair of girls just arriving with their morning coffee to stay awake during class...a purple-haired girl sitting by herself near the front row- _hold on!_ "That's unusual...I need a better look."

While the girl sat on one edge of the row of seats, Derek took the opposite end. The girl was wearing a beige turtleneck sweater that failed to hide the form of her prodigious chest, which Derek struggled to avoid staring at. From here, he could clearly see how long her dark violet hair was, running down her back and making contact with the black leggings covering her long legs. _Wow, she's gorgeous! But what's a cute co-ed like her doing here all alone?_ He figured it was worth trying to approach her, so he walked in front of her. "Excuse me, miss?" But she was very focused on a book she was reading, not looking up. "Uh, miss?" He waved his hand in front of her face.

"Oh! Ah..." The woman said, apparently startled. She took a quick look at Derek before turning away timidly, giving him enough time to see her lovely purple eyes. She took a breath before continuing, turning her head slightly back towards him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't notice you there, um..."

"Derek," he said with a smile, "and you are...?"

"Yuri. Again, I apologize, I was just so caught up in this book..."

"Yeah, you're reading Descartes, right?" He took the opportunity to sit next to her. "That's not due yet, is it? I haven't exactly read it..."

Yuri chuckled a bit. "Oh, no. Philosophy is one of several genres I greatly enjoy, so I have been...reading a few weeks ahead." She seemed embarrassed to be admitting it.

"I see, very responsible of you," to which Yuri gave a small smile. "I was just curious about you, because I've never seen you in this class before...what brings you here 3 weeks into the semester?"

"Ah, w-well, I'm new to the campus, so I had trouble signing up for classes until now..."

 _Typical freshman troubles,_ Derek thought. "That's a shame. Although based on what you've already told me, I'm sure a smart woman like you has had no trouble catching up." Now he noticed a small blush on her face. He grinned. It was at that point the professor came in, bringing their casual conversation to an abrupt end. "Oh, I almost forgot! Is it alright if I sit here today, Yuri? I don't really have anyone else to talk to, and you seem pretty cool."

Something in Derek's words seemed to have resonated with her, because she nodded. "I don't think I mind...Derek."

After class, he was hoping to talk more, but Yuri stuttered. "S-sorry! I have a thing I need to do- I'll be here tomorrow, though!"

Derek couldn't wait to talk more to Yuri tomorrow.

\----------

Derek made it a priority to wake up earlier than he did yesterday. Taking the bus and entering the nearly empty lecture hall, he found himself 30 minutes early today, and used it to sit in the front row, placing his backpack in Yuri's seat. When she had shown up 5 minutes later, book in hand, he stood up to greet her. "Hey, Yuri! I saved your seat." He didn't really get a chance to compare yesterday, but standing side by side, she wasn't too far off from his own **5'9"** height. _Probably the legs..._

"Oh...t-thank you, Derek. I didn't expect to see you here so early..." she avoided making eye contact as they both sat down.

"Is everything okay? I won't bite, you know." he chuckled, unsure how to respond to her shyness.

"Sorry!" Yuri exclaimed. "I'm fine. I just...I-I don't know why anyone would do something so kind for someone like me..."

"Hey, I'm glad to help out a new student. Speaking of which, how about a tour around campus?"

"I really appreciate it, Derek," Yuri said sincerely, "but I went looking around myself a while ago."

"Did you now?" Derek rested his chin on his fist. "I'm curious then, what did you like the most about it?"

"Ahaha...well, I would be lying if I told you I spent that much time outside any of the libraries..."

"A bookworm, huh? Color me surprised." he laughed.

"I-I hope that's not too off-putting for you..." Nervous, Yuri held her book tightly to her chest.

"Not at all! Would I be in this class if I didn't love reading?" Derek said with a little too much enthusiasm. "Hey...is that a new book?" _Did she already read through Descartes?_

"Why, yes!" Yuri said, happy he noticed. "It's Lovecraft. I, um-" she hesitated for a moment, "-finished reading all the course material, so I wanted to have something else to read before class."

"Whoa, Yuri!" Derek was stunned. "You must be one hell of a speed reader!"

"It's not that impressive, r-really..." Yuri deflected, "I just read a lot...I'm sure you could do it too with practice..."

"Still..." Derek could sense the praise making her feel uneasy, so he changed the subject. "So, you like horror too, huh? Interesting choice."

Yuri seemed to perk up a bit at the chance to talk about her novel. "I'm very interested in how different authors approach the genre, especially when they're able to subvert expectations and create fear in ways no other author has dared to try."

"Hmm, I haven't read horror in a while. Maybe I'll go to the library and browse..."

"Oh!" Yuri's face lit up with excitement as she looked through her own backpack, pulling out a different book. "How about this? It's Bradbury. People know him mostly for sci-fi, but he certainly contributed his fair share to horror."

"You're letting me borrow it, just like that?"

"W-well, it's nice to find someone else who shares similar interests...and I only borrowed it from the library two days ago, so you can take your time on it! Um, what I mean is, you're probably busy, not that you're a slow reader! N-not that I would care if you're a slow-"

"Hey, Yuri." Derek put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm really glad we'll get to talk about books together. I'll read as much of this as I can tonight, alright?" She seemed elated.

"Okay, Derek! I'm looking forward to discussing it with you."

"In fact, we still have time before class...might as well get started now, right?" Thus, Derek began reading, noting that in his peripheral vision, he could see Yuri taking occasional glances at him. He turned to look at her right as she took another glance, causing her to blush deeply.

"Ah! Sorry..." Yuri looked away, but Derek simply smiled. He continued until class began, and once it ended found himself bidding another farewell to a Yuri in a hurry to leave.

Overall though, Derek was pleased with how things were progressing so far. _A little more time, and she might warm up to the idea of a dinner date..._


	2. Day 3: Club Invitation

As promised, Derek had spent part of his night reading the book Yuri lent him. While not nearly as quick as her, he was impressed that he managed to finish most of the book in a couple of hours.

When he took the bus the next day, he used the opportunity to finish the last few chapters, closing the book just as he reached his stop. "Not a bad read! **Although some pictures would have been nice...** " He gave a cough upon hearing his voice go unexpectedly high-pitched. _I haven't read anything with pictures in years...and textbooks don't count!_

Walking into class, he was mildly surprised to hear Yuri's voice before reaching the front row. "There you are, Derek." He turned to find Yuri standing in the hallway, smiling. It was when he noticed her meeting his own gaze without having to look up that he felt a little insecure about only being **5'5"**. _She seems like someone who doesn't mind, though._

"Nice of you to wait for me, Yuri."

"I'm just very excited to hear your thoughts on the novel." She clasped her hands together as she spoke.

Walking towards their usual seats, they spent the next half hour discussing Bradbury and which parts stuck out the most. Yuri seemed to hang on to Derek's every word, and he himself was far more interested in Yuri's analysis than he would have expected.

After class, Derek turned to leave, assuming Yuri would be in a rush again, but suddenly heard her call out. "Derek, w-wait! Um...I have to...ask you something..."

_Could this be it? Is she going to reveal her feelings for me?_ "Sure, Yuri! But I thought you're usually busy right about now."

"Oh, I can be a few minutes late, t-this is important to me..." She took a deep breath. "W-would you...be interested in j-joining our literature club?"

_Huh, that's not what I expected...but, if this lets me get closer to Yuri, then why not?_ "Uh, sure! That sounds like fun."

"Really? That's great!" She gave a sigh of relief. "I was worried you would get annoyed if I asked you to spend more time with me...I'll introduce you to the club tomorrow, okay? We can walk there together." Yuri only gave a small smile, but her little body movements gave away how overjoyed she was.

"Oh, can we exchange numbers?" Derek suggested. "I think it'll be more convenient if we want to talk to each other."

"Ah...yes, I think that would be good." Derek pulled out his phone. If he was paying attention, he might have noticed that his contacts were full of people he wouldn't recognize, and none of his old friends were listed. Afterwards, the two bid farewell and Derek finished the rest of his school day.

Before getting on the bus to his apartment, he couldn't help but take a brief detour to the library. "Um, hi. Do you have any comics here?"

Later at night, Derek found himself enraptured by the detailed imagery of Spider-Man and other superheroes.


	3. Day 4: Club Introduction

The next day of classes continued much the same as usual for Derek, save for the newfound intrigue he had for the club Yuri invited him to. The pair spent time chatting about books prior to class, and once it ended, he asked Yuri for details on meeting up.

"S-sorry, I almost forgot! We should both meet by the campus entrance at 2PM to get to the club on time." Yuri stated plainly.

"Wait, 2PM?" Derek had hoped to not encounter this situation. "I have an afternoon class during that time..."

"Oh! I-I didn't know this would get in the way of your schedule," Yuri looked down. "You don't h-have to come, I wouldn't want this to be a burden..." The face she gave bore a hole straight into Derek's heart.

"Whoa, it's fine, Yuri!" he reassured her. "It's not a problem at all." His words seemed to do the trick, noting her making eye contact once more.

"R-really?"

"Yeah, they record my lectures anyways, I can catch up later!" Derek personally didn't enjoy having to watch his lectures online, but figured it was a worthwhile sacrifice to get more time with the beauty beside him.

"That's wonderful," Yuri seemed pleased at this point. "I'll see you at 2, then?" He nodded, and they went their separate ways.

As Derek went through two more classes, he briefly considered what Yuri told him. _Weird how she didn't just specify the building to meet in...but maybe it's just very close by the entrance. Or maybe, it's off campus, but an excuse for us to walk side by side and enjoy each other's company?_ The thought made his heart lift up in his chest, before he returned his attention to the professor. And at 1:55, just as he promised, he found himself waiting by large gates that signified the entry point for his university. Now he just had to wait for-

"Are you ready to go, Derek?" The sight before him nearly made his jaw drop. No longer was Yuri in her familiar turtleneck and leggings, but instead opting for  
some type of strange- yet very attractive- school uniform, complete with blazer, vest, and collared shirt. Somehow, it was even more form-fitting than her old sweater, making the busty freshman all the more appealing to perverts who might try to get a look at her curves. _The red ribbon is a cute touch, though._ This was not even mentioning the choice of a surprisingly short blue skirt for such a demure woman. Nothing obscene, but with the knee-high socks, it was something Derek pictured on someone who wanted to roleplay a sexy schoolgirl, not Yuri. _T-those legs, they're incredible!_ Comparing them to his own, he had a better idea of how Yuri managed to dwarf his own **5'2"** height.

"Wow Yuri, you look...wow!" He struggled to find the right words to describe his awe.

"T-thanks...you too! I mean, you always l-look good- not that I've been staring or anything! I m-mean..." The complement seemed to have done a number on Yuri's speaking abilities. "Um, s-should we go now?" Derek nodded, following her off-campus.

\----------

The pair had been walking for over a mile by now, which had begun to raise some questions for Derek. _Man, how out of the way is this club? I don't think they're going to have many members if they have to walk so far..._ But when he thought about complaining out loud, he just refocused his mind to Yuri, and he suddenly felt it was worth walking whatever distance necessary. Luckily, it only took 5 more minutes before they reached a building...that was part of a high school?

"Uh...Yuri? Why are we at a high school? Where's the club?" Upon turning around, he found her quivering. "Yuri?"

"The truth is...t-the t-truth, is..." Yuri took a deep breath before finishing, "the literature club is...a high school club. I'm actually a high school senior."

Derek gave Yuri an incredulous look. "What?"

"P-please don't be mad at me!" Yuri looked to be on the verge of tears. "I just got special permission to take a college class in the mornings because I thought Philosophy would cover a lot of interesting topics!"

Derek took a moment to think. "Is that why you always left class so quickly? Because you had to run back here?" She nodded.

"I-I'm really sorry if I misled you or anything...I understand if you hate me..." Yuri tried to hide her head in her hands, but Derek put a hand on her shoulder to ease her.

_This is a lot to take in...but I don't really want to ruin this thing with Yuri, assuming she's uh, legal..._ "So, um...is everyone in the club also a senior? As in like, 18?" He felt weird asking, but figured it was better to take the necessary precautions if he was dumb enough to go through with this...

"Yes, we're all the same age." Yuri didn't appear as tense as before.

Derek took a big sigh. "You know what, Yuri? I'll give it a trial run- at least for today. Just _please_ make sure no one else knows I'm here..."

Yuri was beaming. "Oh, I'm so glad to hear you say that, Derek!" She gave him a big hug, his head dangerously close to being pressed against her bosom. "Alright, let's go inside!"

The presence of two other women seated in desks immediately caught Derek's attention. One had short, off-pink hair containing a red bow. She seemed to light up at the presence of a new member, her blue eyes going wide and her mouth producing a slight gasp of excitement. The other girl had long brown hair wrapped up in a ponytail using a larger white bow, along with hair strands framing either side of her face. Her green eyes stared at Derek with curiosity, as if she was trying to analyze his entire life story through his appearance alone.

"Sayori, Monika," Yuri began, gesturing towards the first and second girl respectively, "I'd like you to meet our newest club member, **Deruki**!"

Derek was briefly taken aback. _Wait, what did she call me?_

"Hi, Deruki!" The peppy girl named Sayori exclaimed as she got out of her seat to run up to him. "I can't wait to get to learn all about you!"

"Thanks, but uh, my name-" Derek started, but then took a second to think. _Hold on, **Deruki's always been my name**...right?_

"My, Yuri, it's interesting to see your taste in men." the girl named Monika mentioned as she also stood up.

"Ah, uh, it's not like that!" Yuri insisted, but also tilted her head down. "He likes reading, so it made sense to invite him, right?"

"Ahahahah. Sure, Yuri...although, I bet it also made sense to invite a cute guy to the club, too."

Normally, Deruki would've been flattered to hear a girl call her cute, but there was something about the way Monika said it that just rubbed him the wrong way, as if he didn't want to accept the complement. He ended up crossing his arms in frustration, giving a small pout. **"I'm NOT cute..."**

"Aww!" Sayori's heart melted as she embraced Deruki. "We're gonna be such great friends, I just _know_ it!" All Deruki seemed able to do was blush slightly.

Monika lifted a finger up, "Well, Deruki, you've shown up pretty early on in our club's formation! We just got this group approved yesterday, so I'm sorry if there isn't much to do right now..."

"That's alright," he responded, "I'm interested to see how it grows over time. Maybe I'll find a new genre I like?"

"That's the spirit!" Monika smiled. "What things are you interested in right now?"

"I'm, um...still figuring it out." He would've immediately sided with Yuri's interests a few days ago, but now he found himself unsure, especially with his recent journey into the world of comics. "But I'm keeping an open mind!" Monika looked satisfied with his response.

"Oh, Deruki," Yuri piped up after some time without speaking, "let me at show you around our little classroom space, so you can get familiar with it..." she took his arm as he followed her around the room. It only took a few minutes, considering the only thing that stood out was a storage closet in the back containing nothing particularly interesting, but Deruki was happy to be in a new environment with 3 attractive women nonetheless. He spent some additional time talking to Yuri, until-

"Okay, everyone!" Monika clapped once to direct everyone's attention. "I think we'll be able to get a lot done in these next few days, but for now, just find something you like to read and bring it tomorrow! I'm sure this is the beginning of an amazing experience for everyone!"

"Bye, Deruki! I hope I get to see you more outside of the club!" Sayori waved. _Was that an invitation to hang out?_ Deruki pondered as he returned the gesture.

He and Yuri and walked outside for a distance before the two had to take separate paths home. "Thanks for bringing me here, Yuri. I think I'm going to like it!"

"I'm very grateful we found each other, Deruki. You really mean-I, um..." she seemed ready to say something important, but quickly dropped the subject. "I-I'll walk with you again tomorrow!"

"Deal!" And as the rest of the day came and went, Deruki kept one question on his mind: _What book should I bring tomorrow?_


	4. Day 5: Newfound Love of Literature

At the end of the next day, Deruki and Yuri had met up again and walked to the club. His concerns about being a college student on high school property had seemingly vanished from his mind, instead focused on the other club members.

_Sayori's a pretty energetic person, more than I'm used to with the people I hang out with, but I think it's a nice change of pace...as for Monika, she's very social and straight to the point. A good fit for leader of a club. It's only been a day, so I've got a lot to learn, but it already feels like I've known everyone for a long time..._

Deruki's thoughts were interrupted by Monika's voice. "Good to see everyone back again! For today, let's just keep it simple and read whatever you brought in. I encourage everyone to share the fun with each other, too!"

_I'll check up on the others in a minute. But I gotta finish this issue first!_ Pulling a stack of comics out from his backpack, Deruki soon focused his attention on the actions of the Avengers in their latest escapade. The images seemed to leap off the pages as he started imagining himself caught up within their world, fighting alongside great heroes like Thor and the Hulk. Reaching the last page, he took a moment to look at Yuri, sat at a desk to his right and reading yet another new book. She seemed uncomfortable, shifting the distance between her seat and the desk while adjusting how far she kept the book from her body.

_Man, that must be annoying, having to deal with your chest getting in the way of reading..._ Deruki looked down and used his hands to cup his own chest. _**At the same time though, I kinda wish the boob fairy didn't give me the short end of the stick...**_

"Um, Deruki?" a voice rang out. "Hey, Deruki!"

"Huh, what?" Deruki's face turned away from the purple-haired girl, finding himself face-to-face with a giggling Sayori. His eyes flicked to her chest for only the briefest moment. _**Her size would've been plenty to work with!**_

"Wow, you really like comics, don't you?" She pointed to the large stack on Deruki's desk.

"Sort of. It's a new thing, I guess. But it's growing on me," he smiled. "What have you been reading?"

"Weeeelll," Sayori gave a sheepish look while touching her index fingers together. "I forgot to bring one, so I thought I'd just see what everyone else is up to instead..."

Deruki chuckled. "I see."

"There was something else though! There's a bunch of manga in the storage closet! I thought I'd let you know in case you wanted to read some! They're not too different from comics, after all."

"Manga, huh?" Deruki was aware of the medium, but never really got into it himself. _It's not exactly great for your social standing to be seen around school reading them...but these girls don't seem judgemental._ "Alright, let me give it a shot." Walking to the closet with her, he noticed the stack of manga in a very obvious spot, near the highest shelf. _Weird, I definitely didn't see those there yesterday..._ He grabbed to reach the stack, but found his tiny **4'11"** body didn't have the reach for it.

"Um, Sayori?" Deruki turned and looked up at her, blush on his face. "A little help?"

"Oh, oops!" Sayori giggled once more. "Sorry Deruki, I forgot you're just a _little_ shorter than me." While she herself was only 5'2", it was enough to grab a couple of books. "Here you go!"

"T-thanks." It was a little embarassing for Deruki to be the shortest club member when he was the only male. _I'm glad the girls seem to accept me, though._

Sitting down to read, he realized the story centered around a girl who worked as a maid for an extremely wealth family. Only it turned out to be a cover- at night, she was secretely a magical girl, fighting all the supernatural evils that only revealed themselves in the dark. Deruki found himself enthralled by all the details as he read. _The badass combat! The menacing designs for the villains! **The cute, frilly outfits!**_ As soon as he finished one issue, he picked up the next.

In the time spent lost in his thoughts, Yuri had made her way over to him. "Hello, Deruki." Looking at the book in his hands, she raised an eyebrow. "Are you reading...manga?"

"Yeah, Sayori helped me find some. Looks neat, doesn't it? Figure I'd try something new."

She gave a tiny smile. "I never imagined you having an interest in that medium, but I approve of you trying to expand your horizons all the same."

Deruki returned the smile before continuing his binge session, finding it a little disappointing when Monika eventually signalled the end of club time for the day. _"I'm going to try and reach out for some more club members, but for now just keep on keeping on!"_ she had said.

_I can't wait!_ Deruki thought. _At this rate I'll be done with the series in a day or two! I'll have to go to the library-_ He was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder by Yuri. He had been so focused on the manga that he had walked almost all the way home without talking to her once!

"Well, I guess this is where we part..." Yuri said. "See you again tomorrow, Deruki?"

"Uhh, yeah. Yeah! See you tomorrow, Yuri." _Geeze, I need to pay more attention to her if we're going to ever be a thing..._


	5. Day 6: Back to School Special

Deruki couldn't help but think about how badly he wanted to finish his manga from yesterday. It almost didn't register when he had opened his apartment door after hearing a knock, finding Yuri waiting for him in that familiar school outfit.

"Good morning, Deruki." Yuri smiled, before her face turned to confusion. "Where's your uniform?"

"Huh?" Deruki's face now mirrored Yuri's. "What are you talking about? And why are you here so early, anyways? Club's still half a day away..." It hadn't even registed in his mind that it should've been a weekend, nor that he had never given her his address...

Yuri now seemed increasingly concerned. "A-are you okay? You didn't bump your head, did you?"

"Uh...no? Am I missing something?"

"T-that's okay!" Yuri said worriedly. "Everything's fine! Just come with me and I'll take you to the school nurse, okay?" Yuri moved to grab Deruki's hand, and though he tried to resist, he found himself being easily pulled along with her.

_Hold on, is she that much stronger than me? Nah, it's probably just because she's way taller..._ Unbeknownst to Deruki, his muscles had softened over the past few days. In addition, his skin had smoothed all over, thick hairs replaced with thinner, softer ones. "W-wait, Yuri! I'm fine! Really!"

Yuri paused. "You're acting strange, Deruki. It's not like you to just forget about going to class. If you were Sayori, though..."

"I know we have class! Yuri, we've been going to college philosophy for how many days now?"

She just gave him a long stare. "Okay, you really need to come with me, Deruki. You're starting to scare me." She continued to drag him.

"Yuri! Stop!" He tried to escape her grip but soon realized the effort was futile. Sighing, Deruki stopped resisting and walked alongside her. _She seems really concerned, and I don't really get what's going on. But if playing along gets her to calm down, it's probably worth it in the long run...at least, I hope..._

After a few minutes of walking- and silence- Yuri spoke up. "S-sorry, Deruki. I'm not trying to be mean...this just isn't like you, and I want to make sure you're okay." Her tone seemed sincere, and managed to put Deruki's mind a bit more at ease- for about a minute or two. He had been so distracted by Yuri's behavior, it was only now that he realized that they were not in fact headed towards the college campus, but now quickly approaching the entrance of the high school Yuri attended. Strangely, Monika seemed to be waiting for both of them, handing Deruki some clothes as they arrived.

"I texted her ahead of time so you could get changed before class," Yuri explained.

"Thank me later!" Monika winked, and began pushing Deruki to what he realized was the men's bathroom. "Now, get going! The sooner we get through the day, the sooner we get our club time!"

"But-" Before he even had time to think, Deruki was already inside one of the stalls, the club president nowhere to be seen. _Did Monika push me all the way in here?!_ Thinking about everything that had happened to him this morning, he felt ready to freak out. "Let me call one of my friends to help me get out of here...this might be hard to explain, but I need to at least try!"

However, he only found himself even more lost upon learning two things: One, the phone was the same model as usual, but now was a stunning pink color. Two, opening up his contacts, he found none of his college friends. Instead were a bunch of mostly random names, with three standing out: Yuri, Sayori, and Monika. "That can't be right, I should only have Yuri's number!"

But the more Deruki thought about it, the more it felt...natural? He could feel a pressure in his head as he tried to dwell on his time with the girls. It was like he knew them for much longer than he had thought, but the memories he had of them were still struggling to bubble to the surface. Like a voice in his head was gently telling him: _**No. Not yet.**_

"I'm just...really tired. Or maybe, I'm lucid dreaming? Yeah, that has to be it. What other explanation is there?" Either way, Deruki started to sense that going with the flow would calm the troubles within his mind. His eyes settled on the uniform in his hands given to him by Monika. "I guess I'll start with this?"

It was simple enough to put on. Very similar to the female uniform of the school, but swapping a blue skirt for blue dress pants, and with a red tie instead of a red ribbon. As Deruki finished putting on his blazer, he was amazed at how well the whole ensemble fit him, right down to the shoes. _Wow, Monika's got a real knack for guessing sizes..._

Taking a deep breath, Deruki left the bathroom. _Just get through today, and then take a nap, Deruki. It'll all be normal by tomorrow..._

After changing, Deruki and Yuri had taken a trip to the nurse's office, with no surprising results by the end. Yuri still seemed concerned but she had finally decided to let Deruki loose. "I'll see you during third period, alright?" She went to leave, but not without one final turn and shout. "S-sorry, again!"

"Phew..." Deruki let out a great sigh of relief. "Well, maybe I can just-"

"Deruuukiiii!" rang a loud voice along with a hug from behind.

"S-Sayori?!" But he barely had time to think as he was being pulled along for the second time this morning.

"C'mon, we gotta get to math so we can sit together!" she said excitedly.

\----------

Most of Deruki's day went by without problems, although he still felt very weird about the situation he was in. Classmates approached him like a familiar face, leaving him confused repeatedly. Teachers somehow knew his name, too. He kept running into the club girls throughout the day- sometimes sharing class with only one of them, sometimes with all three. The most frustrating part was when he had to go to PE, and the coach had insisted that he should be 'with the other freshmen playing dodgeball'. That had really gotten under his skin. _I hate when people treat me like some kind of little kid..._ Lunch with the girls had calmed him down, although he did feel a little self-conscious comparing his own meal to Yuri's. While she had gotten a salad to go with some tea she had brought from home, his plate consisted of a sandwich alongside a vanilla cupcake and a stack of cookies. But as the sugar coated his tongue, Deruki found himself in a diabetic heaven. In the meantime, his vocal chords had adjusted to a significantly higher pitch. "Mmmmmmmm **mmmmmm!** "

His bliss was interrupted by a chuckle from Monika. "Enjoying the sweets, Deruki?" He blushed a bit in response. Eventually, classes had ended and Deruki happily returned to the one place in the school that made him feel at ease.

"Alright, everyone!" Monika began. "Let's take it easy again today. The nurse said Deruki was okay, but I don't want to stress him out too much just in case." She turned towards him, a stern look on her face. "Be honest, Deruki. Did you trip and fall in the morning? Concussions are no joke!"

"Pleaaase can we just drop it already?" Deruki was eager to move on. "I was just groggy, okay?"

"But you forgot your uniform, and then you mentioned going to classes at college..." Yuri chimed in, beginning to worry once again. "You must admit, it's very odd..."

"College? Wow Deruki, I didn't hear that part of the story!" Sayori giggled, seemingly unphased by Deruki's possible head trauma. "That's so mature of you!"

"B-but I AM a college student!" Deruki exclaimed. "I'm working on a degree in Biology!"

"Now now Deruki," Monika shook a finger while winking, "Just because you're the youngest one here doesn't mean you have to make up stories to sound older. We all like you just the way you are."

"Y-youngest? **Sayori's only like, a month older than me!** " Just after saying it, Deruki started to stress out a bit. _Wait, is that true?_ He grabbed his wallet and pulled out an ID, depicting him in his current school uniform. Then he pulled out his driver's license: Deruki Philmore. Height: 4'11". Age... **18**. And was his skin always this pale?! _**Well, maybe don't spend all your free time reading indoors!**_

"Welp, I wouldn't worry too much about it, Deruki!" Sayori grabbed his shoulder reassuringly. "My mind's always all over the place, and I'm fine!"

"Hah, yeah..." Deruki took a moment, allowing Sayori's words to take focus over his own confused thoughts. He thought up until now that the girls were overreacting, but now...

"Okay, Deruki. I think the girls and I would agree that- at the very least- you need more rest. Right?" Monika intervened. Sayori and Yuri nodded.

"But...the club-"

"-will be here waiting for you tomorrow!" Monika smiled. "For now though, your health's more important!"

That was all the convincing Deruki needed to hear. With only a simple nod of his own, he quickly made his way home and jumped into bed, ready to put this weird day behind him.


	6. Day 7: A Super-Sweet Super-Treat

"So guys-" Sayori spoke as the rest of the club looked on with interest. She had mentioned a few minutes ago that she had an announcement to make, and Deruki was curious. "I'm happy to say that my friend MC is going to be joining the club tomorrow!!"

"MC?" Strange nickname. _Another cute girl, maybe?_ "What is she like?"

" _He's_ really chill. And a funny guy!" Sayori corrected while maintaining her excitement. "We've known each other since forever, I'm sure you'll like him too!"

"Is that what you and Monika have been talking about in secret?" Yuri asked.

"You're right! MC and I go back a bit, actually," Monika confirmed.

_Huh, so another guy in the club, I guess,_ Deruki thought. Having hung out with these girls for the past few days- **weeks? months? years?** \- he was really getting used to the current group dynamic. How would another guy change that? _Is he really charming? Would he try and take Yuri for himself? What if-_

"-and great! Looks like Deruki's volunteering!" Monika said.

"Huh?" Deruki only now realized that Sayori had been forcefully raising his hand in the air, all while looking at him with a silly grin. "Hey! What did I just sign up for?"

"Baking sweets to entice our new recruit, of course!" the president winked.

"Yaaaaay!" Sayori cheered. "It's been so long since last time, I can't wait to try some again! I'm sure MC will love them, too!"

"I'm not really good at baking, though..." Deruki warned, a bit concerned with the sudden task thrust upon him.

"Don't sell yourself short, Deruki," Yuri offered. "I quite enjoy everything you make."

"Haha, well, if you think so Yuri, I guess I won't argue..." Deruki didn't get where the praise was coming from, but these were confusing times anyway. _Yesterday I forgot I was in high school. Maybe today's just the day I forgot I was a master chef?_

\----------

_ding_

"Wow, done baking already?" Deruki said as he took the pan out of the oven. He was worried he'd screw this up royally, but the golden brown of the cupcakes told him otherwise. "I can't believe I knew all the ingredients and steps...did I make these way back and just remember the recipe this whole time?" He shrugged. "Oh well, as long as they come out great! And now for the frosting!"

After taking the cupcakes out of the pan, Deruki grabbed a piping bag full of pink frosting and started to squeeze. For some reason, he was having a hard time getting anything to come out. "What's wrong with this thing?" He added more force, but still no frosting would budge. "C'mon, you stupid- **aah!** " Deruki let out a girly scream as the piping bag popped from all the pressure, frosting flying in different directions. He took a moment to assess where it all went, sighing at the sizable mess he made.

"Aw man, it's all over the place! Even in my hair..." Deruki says while looking in his peripheral vision, a clump of pink entangled in his brown locks. "I'm gonna need a shower. But first..." With a new piping bag- that he was extra careful with- he added the pink frosting to his cupcakes. "Hmm...it's missing something." Using different assortments of candy, Deruki added cat ears and eyes to each cupcake; some extra chocolate icing was used to make whiskers and mouths. "There. Much better!" Taking a bite from one of his cupcakes, a big grin became visible on his face. "It's perfect!"

He took a moment to finish enjoying it. And then grabbed one more and enjoyed that one too. And then indulged in a third one. "It's fiiine, I made a bunch..." Deruki rationalized. His thoughts went to how the girls had always enjoyed his baking. "Sayori's never one to turn down free food...Yuri never eats more than one or two, though. She always says this stuff goes straight to her hips." Deruki frowned as he looked at his own hips, prodding them after a moment. _**Then how come mine are so tiny?**_ Deruki became a bit self-conscious after seeing them barely flaring out past his shoulders. Not to mention the only ever-so-slight pinching-in of his waist... "Hmph. I shouldn't compare myself to her anyway. We're two different **gir** \- people." he decided.

Deruki took some time to clean the kitchen, finally taking a shower when everything was spotless. Afterwards while looking in the mirror, he huffed at the sight of pink still in his hair. "Ugh, that frosting just won't come out! There's a different spot I didn't notice, too." He decided to try and ask his friends tomorrow for tips on washing it out. "I'll bet the girls will get a real kick out of this..."


	7. Day 8: Arrival of the Fifth

As Deruki waited for MC's arrival along with Yuri and Monika, his mind jumped to several trains of thought. He thought about when Sayori had complimented his hair earlier in the day, not realizing that it had become completely pink in addition to gaining enough length to reach his chin. _"Did you do something with your hair? It looks really cute today!"_ While thinking about it, he subconsciously brushed his bangs away from his eyes, now a much lighter color than their original brown.

He thought about how embarassing it would be to see MC standing next to him, making the difference in height obvious. Which made him very aware of how he was swinging his legs back and forth as he sat in a desk, just barely too short to reach the ground. He thought about how many people might confuse him for a girl if it wasn't for his uniform.

Suddenly, the door to the room swung open as Sayori dragged by the arm a brown-haired boy in uniform, his demeanor a stark contrast to his friend's excitement. Yuri welcomed him first, MC remaining oddly silent as she spoke calmly. Sayori introduced the two before pulling him towards Deruki. "MC, this is **Naruki**! He's always full of energy!"

_Naruki?! Is that what Sayori called me?_ He got a little peeved at his name being messed up. He was about to correct her, until he noticed MC staring at him, a strange look on his face. As the seconds passed, he got increasingly annoyed, but at the same time...his heart was racing? "Okay, you can stop staring now!" he called out.

"Sorry!" MC said as he finally started to speak, breaking the eye contact awkwardly. "It's just, your eyes...they're really...pink!"

Naruki's defenses fell, not expecting such a response. "Well y-yeah! They're just like that, okay! You don't have to be weird about it... **dummy!** " After he spoke, he felt like he had gone a little overboard in his response, but only saw amused reactions from the other girls. Afterwards, MC and Monika reconnected for a bit, and then all eyes were on Naruki again. _Oh yeah, the cupcakes!_ Passing them out to the others, he felt confident after seeing their positive reactions with the kitty designs. It was only when he gave one to MC that he started getting concerned, sneaking glances at his face for the first signs of a smile. _Why do I feel so nervous? **It's not like I care what he thinks or anything...**_

Luckily, his fear was unfounded as MC looked happy. "Wow, these are really good. Thanks, Naruki."

Naruki hid his own satisfied look from MC, giving a mild response. "Cool. You're welcome." But at the same time, he felt his heart skip a beat. _He likes them!_ Yuri followed up by providing tea, after which Monika spoke for a bit about the club's foundation and what she hoped to get out of it. Soon enough Yuri had asked what kind of literature MC was interested in, and Naruki noticed him getting quiet again.

"...manga," he mumbled after a few seconds, catching Naruki's attention.

_Did he say...? No **Naruki** , don't bring it up just yet. You'll sound like a total weirdo if you start bragging about **your giant manga collection!**_ When he returned his attention to the conversation, Yuri was talking about her interest in horror. **"Ugh, I hate horror..."**

"Oh, really?" Yuri seemed disheartened. "You seemed interested last week..."

Naruki internally facepalmed. _You idiot! How are you ever going to date Yuri saying things like that?_ But despite that lingering desire- which he hadn't realized was beginning to fade- he still felt completely put-off by the types of novels she read. "Well, I was exaggerating. I don't really _hate_ horror, I just prefer..."

"...cute things?" Monika finished.

"N-no! I didn't say that!" Naruki pouted. The last thing he wanted was to sound like a child in front of the new club member. _I like mature things!_

"Aww! Your reaction makes you look even cuter!" Sayori gushed, surprising Naruki with an affectionate hug from behind.

Naruki was getting redder by the second, the full attention and teasing by the girls too much for him to handle. **"I'm not cute!!"**

"Sorry Naruki, I can't help it! Ehehehe~"

"Now now, everyone!" Monika interrupted. "It's getting pretty late, so before we all go, I came up with a good exercise to let everyone get comfortable with each other. Let's write a poem and share them tomorrow!" The reactions of the other club members were mixed, but nobody seemed to want to argue. Yuri and Naruki walked home, while Sayori dragged MC with her. Before he knew it, Naruki found himself in his pajamas, staring at the paper on his desk, completely lost as to what to write.

"It's getting pretty late...how the heck do I even get started?" he pondered, pen tapping repeatedly to his chin. He considered a few things: what kind of people the other club members were, what writing style were they likely to use, how he could stand out from the others while still making the poem his own. "What topic to pick..." some parts of his old mind helped to ground him. "Biology...I like animals. Hmm..."


	8. Day 9: Poem Priorities

The sun hadn't been up for long when Naruki's alarm started blaring for the fifth time. "Wuh? Huh?" he shot up from his desk, a small pool of drool beneath him. "Oh shoot, I overslept!" He turned to the piece of paper that only had his name written on it. "Screw it, I'll have to try and do it in class or something. I need to get to school!" He rushed to the closet, which now contained several of the same style of school uniform, and pulled one out.

Something felt a bit off when Naruki put on the collared shirt, but only when he started fiddling with the sweater vest did the dots connect. "Have the buttons always been on that side, or am I crazy?" He tugged a bit on his outfit, but couldn't get completely comfortable. "Huh, it's a little loose around the chest too..." He hoped the feeling might go away after putting on the blazer, but besides feeling snug and tight around the waist, the other problems persisted.

It didn't take long for another issue to present itself. "Okay, where's my tie? I don't have time for this!" Annoyed, he looked around until finding a small red string. "It'll have to do," Naruki sighed while tying the string into a ribbon right under the collar. Finally, he finished getting ready. "At least the pants feel fine..."

\-----

Unfortunately, the rest of Naruki's day didn't seem to let up on him. With an exam in one class and group projects in several others, he bounced from assignment to assignment without a moment's rest. He had almost forgotten about MC joining the club until he had walked into the classroom right after him. "Oh, you actually came back?" Naruki said snidely. "Well, it's the least you could do after you ate my cupcakes."

MC was ready to fire back. "Well, how could I miss it when Sayori told me about all the manga in the back closet? Is that really all yours?"

Naruki's face immediately went red. **"W-what?! No, I mean...no! I mean...just some of it, not-"** he noticed the smirk on MC's face and huffed. "Let's just move on, okay?" _I'm ready to just hide myself in the closet already..._

"Oh, MC, I picked this up earlier and wanted you to have it..." Yuri said while pulling a book from her bag, labelled "Portrait of Markov". Her hand shaking a bit, she handed it to MC. "I have a second copy. We could read it and...discuss it, if you wanted."

"I'll definitely read it!" MC said, a little _too_ enthusiastically for Naruki's tastes. _Are they...flirting?_ His thoughts got sidetracked, however, when Monika signalled free time for reading.

\-----

"Dang it, Monika," Naruki muttered. "I know you don't care that much about manga, but can't you at least leave everything organized by series?" He found himself busy putting all his books back in order after someone had haphazardly borrowed and returned them. Luckily, he had a stepladder to help him out on the higher shelves this time. _**I could totally do it myself, but I'd feel bad putting the stepladder out of a job...**_ While the extra work was annoying, he still felt nostalgic looking over some of the old books he had already sped through. At least, that was until the sounds of shuffling desks broke him out of his reverie.

Looking for the source of the sound, Naruki realized it must have been MC moving closer to Yuri, their desks now touching. The book between them seemed to be the one Yuri gave MC earlier. Each used a hand to keep one half of the book open, with Yuri catching the pages once MC flipped them as they read. Naruki was lost in his observations, trying to judge the looks on their faces. Only after a few minutes did they stop and start talking directly to each other. As he retreated further into the closet to avoid detection, it was difficult to hear what they were saying. But what was obvious was Yuri's apparent interest in talking to him. She spoke for long stretches at a time, and seemed to hold off on her usual shy mannerisms when doing so. At least, until a moment of awkward silence kept bringing her back to her old worried self. Still...

_They're_ definitely _getting too cuddly. How am I supposed to get closer to **MC** \- er, Yuri now?_

"Okay, everyone!" Monika announced. "I think now's a good time to start sharing our poems!"

_Oh no, the poem!_ Naruki gasped internally. _I completely forgot!_ While Monika spoke for a little bit, he hurriedly took out a piece of paper and channeled whatever words his brain gave him into written form.

**Fantasy...cute...kitty...fluffy...kawaii...boop...sugar...pink!**

His hand was starting to cramp when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Monika smiling. "Hey, Naruki! Ready to share?"

\---------------

Naruki found it difficult to lock eyes with Monika as he handed over his hastily-written poem. He waited for the club president to finish going through it before speaking in an apologetic tone. "I'm sorry...I can explain-"

"I have to admit Naruki- the style really suits you," Monika said.

"I know, I should've- wait, really?" Naruki gave a look of surprise.

"Yes! It's simple, but gets the point across."

"B-but it's so short!"

"That's part of the charm, I think. A line like 'People can try' has plenty of meaning on its own while being short enough to easily remember. You looked like you were worried about this earlier, but you shouldn't be!"

"Um...thanks, I guess!" Naruki seemed relieved at Monika's response. _Maybe I should've trusted myself more._

"I can't wait to see more from you," she smiled. "Now, read mine!" As he read Monika's 'Hole in Wall', he definitely got a sense of feeling trapped, of being part of a smaller world with potential to break out into a much larger, more promising universe.

He told Monika as such. "It's an interesting theme, Monika. I really like the 'hole of infinite choices' line. Makes me feel like I can do or be anything."

"I'm glad you liked it! Now," Monika gave a sly grin, "Here's **Monika's Writing Tip of the Day!** When writing about characters, make sure to include any physical details that add to their personality! For example, a cute lil' fang adding to the charm of a cute lil' tsundere girl!"

Naruki blushed. **"Hey! Are you making fun of me?"** he said, a new pointy tooth now clearly visible. "You know I get enough confused looks and questions about my gender..."

"Can you blame them?" Monika teased as Naruki frowned. "Joking!"

\---

After Monika's comments, Naruki was much more willing to share his poem, this time with Sayori. However, he found himself distracted once he looked over to see MC and Yuri sharing their own works with each other. He wasn't sure what annoyed him more- the way Yuri's eyes lit up as she went over MC's poem, or the moment where the purple-haired girl turned towards him for just a second before once again meeting MC's gaze. _Was she talking about me?_

"I love it, Naruki!" Sayori's outburst refocused his attention. "Everything is what I'd expect from you- down to the _adorable_ handwriting! Using all those animals is a really cute idea!"

"It's not supposed to be... _ **cute**_ , Sayori," Naruki denied while pouting. "It's supposed to be meaningful. **And mature!** " He couldn't deny everything, though. _When did my penmanship get so... **girly**?_

"Oh, I know your poems are super deep, too. But I can't help but focus on all the other stuff! Ehehehe~" The energetic girl handed Naruki her own poem. He noted that, while her writing style utilized more words, it leaned towards a more direct message not unlike his own poem.

"It's...honestly pretty nice," he mentioned. "I get a fuzzy and warm feeling inside when I read it. What's the deal with that last line, though? 'I want breakfast'?"

"Welllll..." Sayori shyly touched the tips of her index fingers together.

"Wait, don't tell me...you forgot about writing your poem until this morning?"

"I made eggs and toast!"

Naruki sighed. _Well, I can't really be one to talk..._

\---

"Here's my poem, Naruki. It's my first time, so be gentle, alright?" MC smirked.

**"W-why did you say it like that? Dummy..."** Naruki said, flustered as he grabbed the sheet of notebook paper. "Now, let's see..." As he scanned through the words, he felt a little worried at what he might uncover...

Naruki's heart sank as his eyes took in the sentences MC had written. The tone was very somber, and the focus on fear and death was far from his normal thematic tastes. That alongside the word choice made it more than clear whose style he was trying to emulate. _Effulgent...incongruent...vivacious... **geeze, aren't you trying a little TOO hard to impress her?** He couldn't help but sneak a jealous glance at Yuri as he thought that._

Certainly, that wasn't to say the poem was poorly written; Naruki figured that Yuri was likely very impressed by MC's first attempt. He was ready to steer him straight, though. "You should probably just start over, honestly."

MC looked a bit dejected. "Is it really that bad?"

Naruki failed to look him in the eye as he continued. "I wouldn't say _bad_...but it's a bit much for your typical audience, I think." The look on his face became quite smug. "You read mine, right?"

"Yeah, it's short and sweet. I liked it."

"So you get what I'm saying, right? I like stuff that's easy to read, but gets you thinking by the end of it."

"I respect that! But just because my style's different doesn't make it worse or invalid, right?"

"W-well, sure. I guess...I'm just saying! You should try other styles too, you might find out you like someone else's more! Heh..." Naruki rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. _**Maybe I'm the one trying too hard...**_

\---

By the time Naruki got to sharing with Yuri, he was ready to just skim through her poem and be done with it. But in his mind, he started to feel bad- Yuri hadn't really done anything wrong, she had just gotten in the middle of a stupid love triangle- maybe without even realizing it. And as he looked up at her, the tall girl seemed to be attentive to the words on the page, giving Naruki's own work a fair assessment. So he did the same for her. The poem, loaded with deep symbolism took him longer than he expected to get through. He wasn't even sure he had grasped the full meaning. "Wow Yuri...this is a lot to take in. I got chills!"

"Thank you, Naruki. I know it's not exactly your style, but I appreciate your willingness to engage with my writing." Yuri seemed happy while speaking. "Likewise, I enjoyed seeing your personality shine through your work."

"Thanks!" He felt as though they had been drifting apart recently, despite having been friends and classmates for so long. _It's silly, letting myself get all riled up by a boy._ He felt the urge to apologize.

"Indeed. I'm excited to see how you evolve once you start reading _real literature_." She had said it without any change in tone or any hint of malace, but it was still enough to set him off.

"Sorry, **what?** " Naruki suddenly became very focused on Yuri's response.

"Well, I'm sure you know as well as anybody that reading that manga is just holding your potential back..." Yuri spoke very matter-of-factly.

**"Uh, manga _is_ real literature, Yuri. Pictures don't make it any less valid!"** Internally, he was fuming, thinking back to all the times they had argued about this topic in the past.

"I didn't mean to upset you, Naruki. I simply know that exposure to more mature books will introduce you to many different writing styles-"

**"You know how much the genre means to me. I think your writing makes you sound like a pseudointellectual edgelord, but you don't hear me bringing that up constantly!"**

There was the briefest look of hurt in Yuri's eyes before a cold visage replaced it. "Hmph. Well, _MC_ certainly appreciated my writing."

**"Oh, really?! Well, I'm sure it's all completely innocent! Probably not just a ploy to get closer to the girl with the biggest rack-"**

"Naruki, enough." MC had intervened, now standing alongside Yuri. "I genuinely just like the same genres as Yuri and wanted to experiment. I'm sorry if that bothers you, but she doesn't deserve your spite." His words had put a smile back on Yuri's face.

Just like that, all of Naruki's rage had died out. "B-but...the manga..." He looked at the rest of the room. Monika seemed to be looking away, pretending as if nothing was wrong, but the sad look that Sayori gave him? The one that screamed, _'My close friends are fighting and I don't know how to help!'_ ?

That broke him.

"I'm going home," Naruki heard his body say. He felt like he had been put on autopilot all of a sudden. He didn't make further eye contact with anyone- he simply shut the club door and left, crestfallen.


End file.
